


An Unexpected Quest

by Malefistache (Swan3ills), Swan3ills



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), swan queen - Fandom
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:37:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swan3ills/pseuds/Malefistache, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swan3ills/pseuds/Swan3ills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When Emma and Hook accidentally travel back in time, what Rumplestiltskin does is give them more than just a change in wardrobe - at least in the case of the Savior. Temporary genderbent Emma for reasons. Smutty fun, though it has a dark chapter near the end.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Tripping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Emma and Hook accidentally travel back in time, what Rumplestiltskin does is give them more than just a change in wardrobe - at least in the case of the Savior. Temporary genderbent Emma for reasons. Smutty fun, though it has a dark chapter near the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reworked fanfic.  
> Marian is the real one; no Zelena.

"So you _changed_ things..." the Dark One scowled Emma. "How?" He questioned her.

"I may have prevented my parents from meeting..." Emma looked down to her feet, guilt over her features.

"You made this mess, you will fix it on your own," the warlock said bitterly.

But Emma explained the importance of having her parents meet, as  _she_  was the key for his curse to work in reuniting him with his lost son. If she were never born, all his effort would of be in vain.

Rumplestiltskin believed her words, and so he told her about the ball to be held in celebration of the engagement of Prince James with Princess Abigail. He asked about her plan and Emma told him they would break into the castle and arrange it so her parents ran into each other. But this was putting too much hope into a strike of "luck" and Rumplestiltskin shook his head in disapproval, summoned an invitation and offered it to the Savior.

"You've made it all the way here, Princess, you might as well enjoy the night. But not in those peasant rags," he grimaced at her stolen clothing. A crimson smoke then engulfed her and the pirate, and when it was gone their clothing had transformed—but also something more in the case of Emma.

Even if the Dark One would be sparing Hook's life for a _greater good_ this time _,_ Rumplestiltskin wouldn't let him enjoy the evening to full extension. His future self might have come to a truce with the Captain, but his present - or rather past - wasn't going to let the scumbag have a  _treat_  tonight.

"Whoa! This really IS a makeover," Emma said as a hand went to her now flat chest, touching at the medals adorning her frock coat. But also she felt something kinda different  _down there_  and Hook grimaced at the image of Emma scratching her _crotch._

"Why did you turn her into a man?" He complained. 

Hook was dressed in naval uniform, bot men had been turned to handsome Princes.

"Oh it's perfect!" Emma took a deep breath and then exhaled. "I can finally breathe without that stupid corset," she grinned with content.

Rumplestiltskin gave her a mirror so she could check herself out and when Emma saw the new look, she smirked proudly. _Aren't you a prince charming?_ She chuckled at the image. She was quite resembled to her father, but with hair in the color of her mother's, probably to look related to the pirate. They could pass of as cousins, maybe even brothers easily.

 

* * *

 

 

When they came to join the celebration and King Midas appeared to greet them, they presented themselves as brothers "Prince Charles and Prince Harry of Gryffindor," as the first thing that occurred to Emma, and had to stop for a moment to think if Harry Potter existed in this world, since all magical stories appeared to do, but felt relieved when King Midas didn't question. 

_Phew!_

They exchanged a few words and Emma decided it was best to play along with their roles and she and Hook looked for dance partners.

Hook, or Prince Charles, asked a redheaded girl for a dance but she turned him down, as she could sense the lecherous vibe coming from the man. Instead, she chose Harry, and Charles grinned with mischief at her choice of partner.

"My name is Merida," the young lady told him as they both awkwardly attempted to dance.

"I'm Harry and, sorry, I'm really not experienced in… all this," Emma apologized and Merida smiled.

"I could tell. That's why I chose you," she smirked.

"Huh? Why?" Emma, or rather Harry, asked in bewilderment.

"You seemed fit to be unfit? I need to please mother and father… ugh."

"What does that even mean?"

"They said if I at least danced with a man, they would allow me to leave the party earlier if it didn’t work out. And you… You didn’t look very  _excited_  about dancing, and your brother looks – well, he’s not a type I would want near me and I figured with you it would be quick and I could call it a night sooner.”

“Okay…” Emma’s brow furrowed lightly. _And here she thought she looked very irresistible as Prince Charming._ Apparently not to Princess Merida.

“It’s nothing against you. See, mother wants me to meet  _the one_  and thinks there's no better place for that than in a ball," she rolled her eyes and Emma found it amusing how the Brave Princess was so resembled in both the tale as well as here in the flesh. “At least she knows better than to have men competing for my hand in marriage now,” the redhead added.

"Well, I'm glad I was useful, if only for an excuse," the brunette prince raised an eyebrow playfully.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to be uncouth, I just… I don't do well with tradition," the redhead let out a deep breath and Emma smiled in understanding.

"Me neither," Emma winked an eye at her and Merida thought maybe they had  _that_  in common.

Perhaps Prince Harry wasn't looking for a princess? _Could he lean more toward a prince?_  She looked at him with curiosity. Maybe that was why she felt she had something in common with this person at the very first glance; they were  _different_  than the rest of the royals in the ball.

Suddenly, the party fell silent and when Emma turned around she saw Regina in her magnificent glory, exchanging words with King Midas. She had just arrived and the King was welcoming her to his party as a guest of honor. But she didn't come alone, for she had brought her Dark Knights, and Emma felt her heart skip a beat with the imposing image of the Evil Queen. She had never seen Regina like this. With long, silky hair, and a frightening - but alluring - black dress that accentuated her curves and there was more visible cleavage than she had ever seen the Mayor expose back in Storybrooke.

"Damn…" Emma mumbled and Merida noticed the way he was looking at the Evil Queen and how Harry's hands began sweating nervously in hers as they stopped dancing.

"Do you know her?" Merida asked curiously.

"Regina? Yeah. I mean, who wouldn't? She's a Queen and kinda famous," Emma told her.

Merida squinted at her. "I wouldn't believe it if I weren't seeing it; s _mitten_  by the Evil Queen?" The princess chuckled and Emma's brow furrowed.

"You're nutz," the Prince told her and then realized she wasn't in her own world and this was no way to speak to royalty, even if she herself was royalty as well. "Sorry! I didn't mean to disrespect you," Emma tried to apologize and Merida only chortled more.

"It's fine. I never thought I would meet someone as royally ungraceful as myself," Merida answered.

She had assumed wrong. It wasn’t that Prince Harry was like her; it was that he already had feelings for someone else,  _and what a someone! Dear Gods._

The music stopped and the ginger princess used the opportunity to flee. "This is my cue. I have danced with a man and that will suffice for my mother to let me go unmarried until the next ball," she rolled her eyes and left Emma's side.

"Good luck!" She waved a hand behind her, Emma's brow furrowed in confusion. "Ugh... Bye."

"Snow White!"

They suddenly heard Princess Abigail shout "Snow White!" Emma and Hook rapidly went to the balcony to have a look.

They managed knocking out almost all the dark nights that had come to the same balcony to shoot arrows at the “bandit,” except for one knight that passed by and saw Prince Harry punching one of his comrades. He left before getting noticed and when Emma made it back to the ball, the dark knight pointed at him.

“That’s him! That’s the man helping Snow White escape, my Queen.”

"Going somewhere?" Regina locked eyes on Harry as her knights surrounded him.

"Regina, I can expl-" Harry tried to talk but the Evil Queen interrupted him.

"That's a bit informal, wouldn't you say? Show some respect. It's _your Majesty,_ " Regina told him.

Emma looked around her in embarrassment, biting at her bottom lip in anger.

"Did you help bandit Snow escape?" Regina asked Harry as she came closer and dark knights forced him to kneel before the Queen.

"I just couldn't let an innocent lady be harmed by your vicious soldiers," Harry told her sharply, and looked up to meet Regina’s glare in challenge. “That’s all.”

"Aren't you a prince charming?" Regina mocked him. "She's no damsel in distress," her voice came out much lower, giving Emma chills, but also made the Savior much more curious about Regina the Evil Queen, whom she couldn't bring herself yet to see as her old moniker.

“Yeah, not sure 'bout that; she kinda did seem in distress with all the arrows being shot at her,  _your Majesty,_ ” the prince almost rolled his eyes.

Regina raised an eyebrow at the impertinent, reckless man, and clenched her teeth. "Did she?” She inhaled deeply to calm her anger a little so not to completely ruin King Midas’ party. His was one of the few realms that still kept good relations with her.

“She took my mother’s ring!” Prince James said with anger as he came back from the tower. “But I will find her and she will answer for her crimes.”

Emma smiled at that. Her mother had succeeded in stealing the ring and when her father went looking for her they would be put back on their track to fall in love. Her mission was a success… _if only for this little inconvenience right now._

“Snow White may have left the party early but... I suspect your night has just begun," Regina told her prisoner after her eyes looked up and down his handsome features, which were curiously resembled to Prince James’, but she thought they might be relatives from a distant land.

"You're coming with me," Regina signaled her knights, and since no one had any objections at her taking Prince Harry prisoner, they left the ball ceremoniously.

 

* * *

 

 

Once back in the dark palace, Regina paid a visit to her new prisoner in the dungeons. She noticed Prince Harry was exchanging words with another of her prisoners, a beautiful black woman, and used her dark magic to make her lose her voice.

"Quiet,” Regina ordered. The dark skinned woman put a hand on her throat, shocked as no voice could come from it any more.

"That was unnecessary, Regina," Harry blurted and Regina shot him a stern glare. "I mean,  _my Queen_ ," he knit his brow and faint blush crept his cheeks.

"Have we met before?" Regina asked him as she came closer to his cell.

"Uh… No," Emma answered nervously, watching Regina get closer to the bars.

The Queen was flustered for a moment. She could find his face strangely familiar, but that wasn't the only thing making her uneasy. Harry, for some odd reason, seemed not to fear her and she found his recklessness quite alluring. The prince seemed to be strong spirited and didn't look displeased to see her, unlike the rest of the royals, who barely tolerated her presence because there was no better choice. He was almost too familiar and this was quite a change from her every day after becoming the Evil Queen. It was quite… pleasing, she found.

"Look, it isn't necessary to kill everyone who helps Snow White," Harry stated.

Regina was baffled by how comfortable he felt talking to her, like they were close friends, but she would make it known that she had no weaknesses and had to be feared and respected. And no one — she side glanced Marian — especially not a peasant, would see her soften at some clever man’s speech.

The Evil Queen regained her coldness.

"Oh... Does the Prince have a better idea? Wait. Let me guess… Could it be torture? Yes, that's a better idea," she extended her hand and grabbed his face through the bars, pulled him close until his face was hard against the cool metal. "I should start with you; you seem eager for _punishment._ "

Regina’s breath caressed Emma's lips as she spoke with a dangerously sexy tone the Sheriff had only once heard the Mayor use before, when she told her  _‘don’t underestimate me Miss Swan. You have no idea what I’m capable of,’_ and made Emma feel tingling sensations somewhere not supposed to. And at hearing the word _‘punishment,’_  recalled an occasion in which she, her reckless sheriff self, asked the Mayor if she would punish her – right in front of all of Storybrooke in the Town Hall.

Emma felt the rise of heat come up to her face and had to evade piercing dark eyes, and when jade eyes looked down, an incredibly good cleavage greeted her sight. She inevitably licked her suddenly dry lips and Regina knew very well what ‘the prince’ was almost savoring.

"Thirsty?" Regina asked with a husky voice.

"And kinda hungry too," Harry mumbled. Green eyes went back to lock with brown in a different manner, and, at the same time, his crotch began to _itch._  

 _What’s wrong this male body?_  She resisted the urge to scratch it.

“What an impolite host I am,” Regina said. She released her grip on Harry's face and regained her regal poise. She side-glanced at the mute prisoner watching baffled at the obvious flirting guised in bicker, and decided to continue _displaying her power_ in a more private location.

“I wouldn’t want you dying with the wrong impression of the Queen of the Enchanted Forest.”

Purple smoke engulfed their bodies to transport them and Emma found herself in the Queen's bedchambers soon after it dissipated, feeling dizzy with this twisted seduction game. It wasn't the first time Regina transported them with magic; she had done it when she took them to the bridge when they were practicing magic, but this new location was nowhere near as open and it felt even more dangerous than the bridge collapsing under her feet.

 _Oh my God… Is this really happening?_  She thought as she watched Regina strut closer.  _Hot damn._ She felt that heat rise again.

“Wine?” Regina offered after pouring a glass for herself.

“Uh… yeah,” Emma began to get nervous, but steeled her courage by drinking her wine from big gulps.

“You weren’t lying when you said you were thirsty,” Regina half-chuckled, half-teased him.

“Tell me… Is your _appetite_  as  _big_  as your _recklessness_  is?” The Queen asked sensually, letting her eyes dart down to his lap and back up to green eyes with no shyness.

“I’ve been told I’m quite the eater at a feast,” Emma responded before thinking.   _Shit._   _Why was she flirting back?_ Maybe because it was kind of… fun.

Regina sized him again, smiling to herself. “I’m pretty sure you couldn’t even go through the  _first course_  of one of mine,” Regina tempted him.

“Please… It’s you who couldn’t handle feeding me,” Emma challenged her.

“Is that so?” Regina smirked with a glint of lust in her eye, a pleased grin appeared in her mouth.

The sorceress pushed a hand forward and a gust of air lurched Harry's body to land in the big canopy bed.

 _Oh, shit! It really is happening._ Emma bit her lip, and her eyes indulged in the sight of the regal woman now crawling over her body in bed and the ‘prince’ felt something unfamiliar twitch inside his pants.

"What kind of magic are you using on me?" He asked abruptly and Regina laughed at that.

"Dear, I need no magic to compel your body into exposing your raw desires," she told him and looked down at the tent growing inside his trousers.

Emma looked down after Regina and her face turned bright red upon noticing the big bulge claiming life of its own,  _down there_.

 _Holy crap! This is my thing?_ She began sweating nervously, twitched her hips in discomfort and at the same time tried evading the dark gaze looking at his strange demeanor with not much amusement this moment.

"Don't tell me this is your first time," Regina twitched her lip, huffed heavily with annoyance, and was getting up to walk away when a hand gripped on her wrist and pulled her right back to her previously occupied place, atop the prince in bed.

"With a Queen, yes," Harry told her with mixed nervousness and a courage Emma had never had before.

 _Wait! Why did I just do that?_ Emma blinked eyes. Perhaps having this new body and knowing Regina had no idea who she was, was giving her some kind of weird courage, and Regina was  _so_  unapologetically thirsty for her it was quite a fantasy coming true.

Regina gave him another look, reconsidering if it was worth having a slip tonight with a strange person like Prince Harry was, but the lips that crashed against hers stopped her inner talk at once and she gave into his kiss with fevering desire she had not felt before. It was all lips, desperate kisses and needy hands roaming her body hungrily and Regina felt very aroused very quickly. It was new to her feeling desire like this; feeling wanted and even needed.

This Harry seemed to know just which buttons to push that would evoke the right answer from her body.  _Might as well push buttons of my own,_  the Queen thought, and let her hand slip down to firmly grip at the bulge throbbing inside his trousers wanton.

Emma groaned in mixed pain and pleasure, the sensation completely foreign to her but incredibly arousing. She forgot for a moment her own name and all she knew was she wanted to find release soon, and she would make _that woman_  beg for mercy - if even only once in her lifetime - so she flipped sides with the Queen, pinned her down in bed with strong hands and enjoyed the otherworldly image of Regina under her body with lustful eyes.

_Too late to back down now, Swan._

Emma gathered her courage, but when she was about to tackle Regina’s neck, a purple mist of magic vanished her entire uniform, leaving ‘his’ toned chest, firm abs, and  _much more_ very well exposed for Regina to judge the masculine physique before her eyes.

"That's cheating," the prince blurted and Regina was immediately on defense.

"What did you just say?" She barked, ready to burn his ass out of her bed.

"It isn't fair I'm the only one completely exposed here," Harry told her playfully, "and I'm already under your spell without the need of magic. Why not give into this freely?" He asked gently and looked into Regina's eyes like she could see her bare soul, and the Evil Queen felt more nude than she'd ever been in her entire life, even when she was still fully clothed.

For a moment, she struggled.  _Why could Harry make every fiber of her being vibrate with just his words—with just his presence?_

It was beyond her, but she wasn't one to show  _weakness._  "You have to earn it," Regina muttered, tried to get up but Harry held her gently in place, and leaned down slowly, giving her the chance to still kick him out of her bedchambers, or allow him to continue.  _Oh, how much she hoped Regina would let her continue._

Regina waited with curiosity for his next move, and a soft moan escaped her lips when she felt his tongue on her ear, a soft nibble on her earlobe, and some gentle kisses be placed down her pulse point with careful attention no other man had ever shown for her.

Emma continued kissing after hearing Regina's positive response and her own breathing became heavier.

 _Why does this feel so… good?_ She was partially confused, but more interested in continuing whatever she had unintentionally started.

Meeting in Storybrooke they’d also felt that instant combustion, but because Regina thought she was there to steal her son away from her, Emma didn’t get an opportunity to even  _try_  being friends. But here, without that competition, all that was between them was the carnal desire they had suppressed in the land with no magic. Their spirits just… clicked, somehow. Every time.

"Mmm…" Emma moaned as she moved down to kiss the middle of Regina's exposed cleavage, and green eyes went up to meet brown in a plead. "Please…" Harry implored and Regina's magic now vanished her black dress and the prince was astonished at the image of perfection that was Regina’s nudity.

"Wow," he lost his breath and Regina couldn't avoid chuckling at the innocent response.  _Quite charming._

Regina cupped his face in her hands, brought him close once more, but they kissed more slowly than before and Regina's tongue parted his lips to have a taste at her lover's.

Their breathing became more labored with every second passing and Emma completely forgot about who they were and what was happening between them; she just gave into the moment and enjoyed how damn good it felt to be caressing this soft body being shared with her so passionately.

Desire for feeling him inside her made Regina tangle her fingers in brown tresses and pull back his head to detach their lips so she could groan from deep her gut a command: "Take me," her voice was hot, raspy - needy even, and Emma felt her cock become much harder in response and acted out of instinct, parting Regina's legs with her hands to position herself in between them.

_But how could she not have a taste at her forbidden fruit, when it was so ripe for her?_

"There's no hurry, Regina," he whispered, and it puzzled Regina for a moment that didn't last too long as the prince's lips and tongue took a different route; caressing her ankle, trailing kisses up to the knee, and his wet tongue slid up her inner thigh until it was very close to that hot, humid place Emma was dying to savor.

"Mmm..."  Regina moaned.

She chewed her bottom lip in anticipation when she felt his mouth come so close to her core and groaned in pleasure at feeling the first swipe of his tongue, up and down her wet slit, and then moved to tease her little bundle of nerves. She had only experienced the joys of oral sex with an old friend, years ago, but she and Maleficent were better off on their own, as neither woman could let go of their first loves. However, Regina felt a little hope this moment, but quickly reminded herself she was only having sex,  _not making love;_  that wasn’t what they were doing, she and Prince Harry, and focused on the pleasure of detached sex.

Emma decided this was the real prize of her unexpected quest in time, and savored every drop of her Majesty offered. She felt she was  _tripping_. 

‘Harry’ knew just what women liked best and gave Regina a really difficult time with keeping her regal composure in bed. There was a moment when the Queen was ready to give up and beg for him to stop, but there was no way she would show  _defeat_ , and battled her own anxiety prior to a mind blowing orgasm.

Regina swallowed with difficulty her own whimper of ecstasy, and Emma smirked with pride at her achievement thus far.  _I will make her beg,_ she was convinced, and got ready to enter the gates of heaven, or hell, because after this experience she wouldn't be able to see Regina with the same eyes before their sexual encounter. And God forbid the Mayor ever found out about this passionate incident. It would be her secret to the grave.

"Ah-ah. I believe it’s only fair I take the top from now," Regina prevented the prince from mounting her, and pushed him aside to lie on his back. But Harry didn't want to allow that, tried to go after Regina again, but she stopped him from trying pinning her down and straddled his hips to keep him in place, her sex hovering just mere inches above his, as he tried to sit up on bed.

"Look who's dying to find release," Regina sneered.

Emma swallowed on her saliva, and felt warm sweat slide down her muscular torso with the tension as she held her much heavier weight on her elbows, eye-level with the Queen’s breasts, and licked her dry lips again. 

"You’re so beautiful... I need you. Now," the prince groaned, and realized  _he_  was the one begging, much against Emma’s own attempt at making the Queen succumb to her skillful tactics.

Regina smirked proudly.

 _Damn. Regina always wins,_ Emma wasn’t sure if she hated it or loved it this moment.

Jade eyes were perusing Regina's nude body when her vision became suddenly blurry the moment she felt the Queen lower her hips, taking  _him_  inside her warm slickness.  _Fuck! This is the real deal._ Emma's eyes closed as she gasped for air, feeling she could lose herself any moment. She understood now why men didn't usually last very long during the act, and tried to focus on anything else that could make her last longer than a minute- longer than _two seconds_ ,  _fuck!_

"Stop panting, that was just the head," Regina ordered.

Emma wanted to kill herself because she was not the vigorous stud she thought she could be for Regina; it was quite embarrassing. But Regina found it somewhat sweet and innocent. She could use some innocence back in her life, but she dismissed the thought just as fast as it had come. Again.

"Ahhh," he groaned, and couldn't even bring himself to speak when the Queen moved up slowly and then slid down again, sharing her own sultry moan in his ear as she took him in more deeply.

“Mmmmm, my prince.”

 _Could Regina be any worse? Probably yes._  Emma felt completely defeated and possessed by her. She balanced her weight in her hands now, gripping on the cushion to steady herself, feeling she could collapse any moment.

Regina's arms curled around Harry's neck as she continued torturing him with long, slow moves, until she felt pity for the man panting as he fought against his nature not to come before the Queen found it suited. It amused her how much he wanted to keep up with her, as if it were a challenge they had silently arranged, but this also was getting more and more difficult for her to keep up with the teasing game; she was also close.

Regina felt a special connection with this person, unlike any other, and couldn't come to understand it. But it shouldn't really matter because this was going to be a one-time experience, never to repeat between them. She was just using him for her enjoyment, right?  She was confused but decided to just focus on the pleasure she rarely allowed herself these days, for which she had a sex slave that did as she pleased, which didn't actually make it pleasurable.

She felt Harry's fingers claw at her waist; suddenly adjusting their position in a brisk movement, throwing her back so he could be atop her and his pelvic thrusts became quicker, more aggressive- animalistic, and Regina soon felt her own body tremble, and her toes curled when she could take it no more. They came together in what was the strongest climax either of them had experienced and it took them a good few of minutes to catch their own breath.

When Harry collapsed over Regina’s body, he looked for her lips, but the Queen refused to share an even more intimate kiss after what she’d just felt.  _That glimpse of heaven with him._ No! The whole night had already been too compromising; she had never shared her bed like this. Regina was accustomed to making use of her huntsman when she needed a quick, un-attached release, but with this so-called  _Prince Harry,_  there had been something  _more,_  something she had not experienced before, and she didn't really have a proper word to name it in her head. Or did she?

 _Whole._ She felt complete.  _Had she met her match?_  But he wasn't the man with the lion tattoo; he couldn’t be. Fate said the only person for her could be that man in the tavern she didn’t dare approach so many years ago, not a mysterious prince from an unknown land she just met.  _Where was he even from?_  She knew nothing about him other than he was Prince Harry of Gryffindor.

"I love you," Harry whispered in her ear before placing a chaste kiss on her jaw, since Regina had avoided his lips.

Emma surprised even herself, but she couldn't really hold it in her chest anymore. Not after sharing this experience with the mother of her son and finally finding the word to describe what she felt whenever she saw Regina's walls breaking before her and only her.

It was love. Emma loved Regina in  _every_  form, and couldn’t hide it any longer. But this body wasn’t hers- well, it was but then it wasn't. Regina hadn’t slept with Emma; she’d slept with _Harry,_  and Emma had to go back to her own timeline and hope she hadn’t fucked things up beyond repair; she would only find out in the future. The past had no space for her to occupy in Regina’s life; she had to go, she kept telling herself no matter how it hurt.

"I love you," Harry’s words felt like mockery and Regina finally reacted the only way she knew.

"Are you insane?" Regina shook her head in disbelief. "We just met and this is… Don't think this is ever going to repeat," Regina got up from bed and summoned a blue velvet dress to cover her body.

”This was just a meaningless game. You can stop pretending to care about me," she stopped to catch her breath. “I need nobody’s sympathy and certainly not your pity, or are you so stupid you can’t see I just used you? We had fun—that’s all there is to it, nothing more, you clueless  _child._ ”

It hurt Emma to hear her harsh words, but what hurt more was that she could see Regina was actually hurting, and even if she couldn’t stay forever with her in this world, she wanted to assure the other woman she could be loved again.

"But, Regina, I genuinely care about you. I wish I could make you feel what I'm feeling inside here," Emma brought a hand to her own chest and Regina raised an eyebrow incredulously.

There was a moment she wanted to believe his words and feel she could still be loved after everything she'd done, but her  _sex-toy_  for the night didn't know her, and neither did Regina know much about this mysterious prince from a land unknown to her.

 _It's all lies,_ the words echoed in Regina’s head.

"Don't think your sweet nothings will save you from spending the night in my dungeon and meeting your punishment tomorrow," Regina summoned purple smoke and transported him back to his previous cell without giving him time to talk, but at least he was fully dressed by the same magic that sent him away.

"No one can love the Evil Queen," Regina muttered and went to her balcony to wish upon a star, but she had lost her fairy godmother years ago and there was no light magic powerful enough to redeem her darkened heart and make it worthy of a love like this. "Love at first sight," Regina mumbled," that's so out of character, Regina," she braced herself.

 

* * *

 

 

"What was I even thinking?" Emma smacked her hands against the cell bars. "She just met me, and it isn't like I could stay here by her side," she huffed and dropped her weight on the ground. "I didn't come here to  _rescue_  Regina; I'm here for my parents," Emma continued mumbling. She leaned against the wall and then heard some noises come from the other occupied cell. She looked at the female prisoner and noticed the woman was trying to ask something, but she couldn't articulate a word because her voice was still missing. 

"You were right. She's not going soft," Emma told her. "Altho she felt rather soft for a while," he mumbled and the other lady grimaced at the unnecessary information.

Emma noticed a wooden spoon with a metal string tied around it, uncurled it, and used it to unlock her gate and then went to release the prisoner next to her. They made it slowly outside of the dungeon and met with Hook as he came to save his damsel - or current prince - in distress.

"I'm the only one who saves myself," Emma told him proudly and Hook rolled his eyes at that.

"Okay, let's go then. But, wait… Who is this?" He asked privately and Emma told him it was someone who needed their help, and brought her with them against his better judgment. She was quite a stubborn savior and they had no time to waste on arguing.

 

* * *

 

 

"When I told you to enjoy the night, I didn't mean it like  _that,_ " Rumplestiltskin said with a playful childish tone of voice to Emma as they came to his presence. Hook looked at both of them with confusion but paid it not much mind, as he was still carrying the woman Emma hit in the head to make her more portable.

A crimson smoke soon swirled around their bodies and returned them to their modern time looks; Emma to her appropriate body, to which Hook was more than thankful for.

"Well, you didn't warn me about the  _side effects_  of your makeover," Emma muttered at Rumplestiltskin, feeling her hornyness was somewhat part of the temporary spell.  _Yeah..._   _Fucking hell,_ who did she wanna blame? She couldn’t resist Regina when she offered herself like that, and she would  _almost_  be guilty if she weren’t actually so happy for having been with her at last.

"Perhaps because there weren't any,  _Princess_?" Rumplestiltskin responded and Emma blushed lightly and looked away. "Let's just hope you didn't change  _anything else_ , Savior," he told her and threw a black wand her way.

After Emma caught it, he made her and the others appear inside his vault of relics.

"Only those who traveled through the portal can make it open again. Unless you wield magic, you're going to have to spend the rest of your days inside my vault so you don't taint the future any further," his voice resounded in the cove.

"Great," Emma scoffed.

The Savior held the black wand in her hand, and after exchanging some heartfelt words with the pirate about Henry not having brought her to Storybrooke break a curse but rather bringing her Home, she was able to re-open the portal that would take them back to the present; back to where she belonged. Back to her family.


	2. True Love

When Regina entered the diner Emma felt a flutter in her stomach, which quickly turned acidic when she saw Robin Hood accompanying her, holding hands with the Mayor as they moved inside the restaurant, and two small kids followed behind them.

 _What is he doing with Regina?_ The image didn’t _click._

Emma tried her best to ignore the strange sensation churning in her stomach. _Was it jealousy?_ She hadn't really felt that in her dating life. But now that she’d had a taste at Regina’s loving, she didn’t feel like _sharing,_ as outrageous and irrational as it sounded in her mind.

After Robin went to sit in an empty booth with his boy and a little girl, Emma walked slowly in direction of the Mayor, and felt her hands begin to sweat.

She looked at Regina's conservative attire—quite the contrast from her trip to the Enchanted Forest—and then her gaze sat on dark red lips. She licked her own dry lips nervously and, for some reason, that sight evoked a faint memory in Regina that she had been trying to erase for the longest time.

"Are you thirsty, dear?" She asked Emma after the awkward silence and the blonde blushed a bright red, and even Regina felt a little uneasy with the familiarity of that scene. _Deja vu?_ It was like something she’d lived before, but under much different circumstances, and with a different person.

"Uh… no. Regina, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Emma told her as she beckoned her to come by the bar.

Emma told her she had brought someone from the past but the person still saw her as… "The Evil Queen," Regina said for her and Emma frowned in discomfort.

"Well, yeah. But maybe if you spoke with her, or helped her recover her voice, she would see who you are now," Emma looked at her with hope and Regina nodded, though not very content with the idea, but she was trying to have a better relation with her son’s birthmother, so she agreed.

"I understand."

Regina went to meet with the other woman and she _kind of_ remembered her face from somewhere, but very vaguely. She waved a hand in front of her and the lady recovered her voice.

"Thank you," the dark skinned woman thanked her nervously, and then her eyes noticed her husband sitting in one of the booths beside them.

"Robin?" She asked incredulously. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Marian? I thought you were dead," he cried as he held her tightly. Their little son came a moment later to their side.

"Mama?" He asked shyly and she recognized her slightly bigger child immediately.

"Roland!" She went to pick him in her arms.

Marian thought she would never see her family again after getting captured by the Evil Queen. She _was_ going to die, but now Emma had given her a second chance at life and she couldn’t be more grateful.

"You did this?" Regina asked Emma with a broken voice as she witnessed the family reunion and how her second chance shattered before her eyes without anything she could do to stop it. Her world was crumbling once again and this time she hadn’t done anything to deserve such fate and she felt betrayed by the _one person_ she’d wanted to trust more than anyone.

"I didn't know," Emma's lips curled downwards after seeing the broken expression in Regina's face, and felt even worse because it was something that, deep down, gave her hope because it meant Regina would be available for her. But how could she even stand a chance with Regina if she was just… _Emma?_ And had just ruined Regina's life.

"You're just like your mother, never thinking of consequences!" Regina said bitterly and ran outside the diner to clear her mind and avoid watching the happy family now complete with someone other than her. She could see Robin would choose Marian, his True Love, before her.

"Regina, wait!" Emma went running behind her. "Please let me explain."

"Don’t," Regina barked and turned around slowly.

She began walking dangerously in Emma’s direction and then stopped just a few inches from the other woman's face. "I don't know what gave you the right to tamper with my life and still have the nerve to pretend you care about me while you hurt me," she inhaled deeply and didn't let Emma speak. "Just, who do you think you are, Miss Swan?" She confronted her, but then it was Henry who came running from the diner.

"Ma! Maaah! Were you really Prince Harry at the ball?" He came holding his old book and showing the page to his birthmother.

"Shit." Emma muttered. Her eyes looked everywhere else but the Mayor's face.

Regina snatched the book from Henry's hands and went through the pages showing the pair of princes that helped Snow White escape from Dark Knights in Mida's castle.

"Could you please answer _our_ son's question?" Regina feigned to be calm, so not to worry Henry.

Emma bit her lip. She knew she couldn't lie because Henry would know, and so would Regina. _Fuuuuuck._ She had no escaping from this one.

"I… ah… Yes."

Regina's face went through every shade of red there was. First, there was shock, then it was anger, and disbelief quickly followed after them. But then came realization.

"Henry, could you please leave us a moment to discuss something in private?" Regina asked him and he shrugged.

"Uh, sure." He went back inside with the book in his hands and quickly joined the party, but kept a curious eye out the window just in case.

"You said you wanted to explain," Regina looked murderous, “Start.”

But Emma didn't really have an answer now. No, not for _that_ part. She evaded brown eyes and wondered. _Explain why I brought back Marian, or why did I turn into Prince Harry? Or why did I make passionate love to the Queen while being my own version of Prince Charming?_ _Shiiiiiiiit._

"Why what?" Emma decided to play fool.

Hopefully, Regina wouldn't even remember a one-night stand from like over thirty years ago. The Queen had told her it was meaningless, never to repeat again, _right?_  This was something she probably did any time she felt randy, no? Regina had been very firm that she was just _using_ him for pleasure; now was a good moment to believe that crap Emma wanted to.

"I’m just a joke for you, aren’t I?" Regina's walls broke again and she started weeping. “I can’t believe I was _starting_ to _trust_ you.”

"Regina, it's not like that. I-" Emma tried to find something she could say to fix this but there was no rational answer to justify her actions. Still, she said the only thing she could say, and tried to start with the Marian part.

“Regina, I swear I didn’t intend to cause you pain. I… I just wanted to help, and-”

“Miss Swan. The more you try to _help,_ the worse my life becomes,” Regina said with hurt, turned her back to Emma, and sighed deeply. "Let's just… forget about all of this and," Regina blinked eyes in realization. _This is the answer to my problems,_ she thought. "Actually, _I_ will forget about this all," she mumbled and Emma felt something _bad_ inside her gut.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked nervously as she approached her warily.

"Nothing that concerns you. It never has, and it never will," Regina answered with a strained voice. Purple smoke engulfed her body and made it disappear before Emma could touch her shoulder.

"Shit!" Emma kicked a chair from outside the diner and made it fall. "Wait. I know where to find her."

She quickly made it to her bug and drove to the cemetery where Regina kept her vault of magic.

Emma was unsurprised to see the door fully open, and made it downstairs until she came to see Regina about to drink a potion from a glass.

"Regina, don't!" Emma ran to her and slapped the glass away, making it fall from her hand and shatter in the stone floor.

"What the hell were you going to do?" Emma asked her with worry, fearing the worst. _Could Regina have reached her limits and think about suicide?_ She didn't want to believe that.

"I was going to forget you… and Henry," Regina answered tiredly while kneeling to pick up the pieces of broken glass.

"What? I understand why you would want to erase me from your life, but, Henry?" Emma asked as she came to help the brunette with the mess.

"I can't continue living like this. Ever since you appeared in my life, everything has turned into a living nightmare. I can't do this anymore, Emma," Regina answered and accidentally cut her palm.

"Let me see that," Emma took her hand and looked with honest worry at her wound and Regina felt confused.

"I'm sorry I've only brought unpleasant memories to your life when it was quite the opposite what I wanted to create," Emma said with sincerity and her gaze met with Regina's for a long moment. "But, please, don't forget Henry. I will go back to New York and he will stay here with you," Emma sighed deeply and her own tears began falling.

Regina stared in disbelief and thought maybe this was just another of Emma's jokes. "As if you would let me live my happy ending," Regina muttered. She waved a hand over her injured one and healed the wound; tried to retrieve her hand from Emma’s but she didn't let her.

"Regina," Emma looked into brown pools with pain, keeping grasp of the hand in fear Regina might poof away again without letting her speak. "That night, I truly meant it," she told her and placed a gentle kiss in her palm at the same time her tears came down the sides of her cheeks.

"I’ve no idea what you're talking about," Regina tried to fake amnesia, but Emma _knew_ whenever the Mayor lied and she was sure that Regina did indeed remember their passionate encounter a lifetime ago, but which was a fresh memory in Emma's mind and heart. She was certain Regina did remember  _“Harry’s”_ words.

"I love you," Emma looked at Regina's lips, just like that night, and the brunette evaded her lingering gaze, just like before.

"I loved you then and I love you now, and I fear I will always do. But I can't stay by your side if I can't be with you," she sighed deeply and released Regina's hand to start her way toward the stairs. "It would be the worst curse imaginable," she turned around to tell her.

Regina was perplexed. This was too difficult to digest, but the sight of Emma walking away gave her more pain the one she could endure ever again. It was worse than saying good-bye to Daniel; it only equaled her sorrow after giving up Henry to escape Pan’s curse.

 _Why is this so… painful? Isn't this what I always wanted?_ She asked herself.

"Harry," Regina said softly.

Emma turned around slowly, eyes glazed, but with a smile in her lips at remembering her silly prince name.

"I could never fall in love again after that night with him," she confessed. “Not until I… met you.”

"Huh?" Emma shook her head trying to understand.

"All that time I told myself I had to remember Daniel and get back on track for my revenge. I knew he was gone, but at least he was someone I could hold on to. Because you, _Harry,_ how could that even be possible? I didn't believe anyone could love _the Evil Queen,_ so I clung to the only person who knew me as Regina in that cruel world," she told her as she came to sit down with Emma by the stairs, “to the memory of Daniel, and hated myself for having had a moment of weakness with a stranger that… _[cost me dearly, Regina omitted]_ couldn’t possibly love me for whom I was.”

"I've always seen you as Regina. Even in the Enchanted Forest, I couldn't see you as… you know," Emma slipped a hand over Regina's and brought it to her lap.

"I know. You had a difficult time calling me by my royal title," Regina chuckled at the memory and how she had allowed Harry to continue calling her by her name during their private meeting. "It was hard for me to… to acknowledge these feelings. Meeting you- the real you -in Storybrooke reminded me so much of that reckless man I ran into in Midas’ castle. Now I see why I continued looking for the truth behind your eyes; I knew I had seen _that gaze_ before, but I would have never imagined that my _prince charming_ was standing right before me," Regina squeezed her hand and Emma smiled shyly.

"Does that mean?" Emma looked with hope into dark eyes. "Would you give me a chance?" She asked in a whisper and Regina felt butterflies in her stomach.

"I don't know… I'm still having a difficult time believing. Henry clearly didn't get that trait from me," Regina smiled nervously.

"Then try me. If there's any way I can prove to you my feelings, I will make sure I leave no space for doubt in the future." Emma said with resolve and Regina narrowed her gaze on her. "Curse me, and when I wake up with your kiss, there will be no turning back," Emma told her and went back into the room containing Regina's magical items.

"Are you insane?! What if we're just confused and nothing happens and you don't wake up? Henry would never forgive me, or the two idiots. They would think I sought vengeance," Regina crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course unless the _handless wonder_ comes to save the day and his insipid lips prove he was your one True Love," Regina said with bitterness, and could almost taste bile in her mouth by the mere thought of _Killian Jones_ kissing Emma.

For someone who had a difficult time believing she loved Emma, Regina was much too jealous of the pirate that kept trying to get inside pants she's unknowingly already gotten in.

"Hook? Not a chance, and I'm not confused," Emma's brow furrowed. "It's gonna be fine. Trust me," Emma assured her.

"It isn't your confusion what troubles me," Regina's tone was somber and Emma turned around to lock gaze with Regina.

She felt a slight tug in her chest at considering her feelings could be one-sided.  _That really hurt._ "Then Henry will wake me up and I won't bother you ever again," Emma smiled sadly and started looking in an old chest.

"Is it this?" She showed her a potion and Regina moved her head in negative.

"No and I'm not doing it," the brunette answered sharply but Emma didn't care and continued showing things Regina kept ignoring, until she finally found a pointy needle in the depths of an old box, and Regina's horrified expression gave her the answer she needn't even ask for. It was the same needle the Queen had _almost_ come to use back in the Enchanted Forest one year ago.

 

* * *

 

Henry had been worried for both his mothers after the strange talk they had outside the diner. He followed carefully behind Emma on his grandpa’s truck without her noticing, and when he finally made it into the vault, he stopped after seeing the backs of his mothers by the end of the stairs; they appeared to be talking calmly.

"Shhh… Let’s play quiet," he told someone who was accompanying him. They waited for a while, observing, until they heard Regina suddenly shout when Emma showed her something.

 

* * *

 

"NO! Put it down!" Regina shouted.

"I see…" Emma said contently and before Regina reached to her, she pinched her finger with the needle.

Regina caught her in her arms in time and both women landed on the floor.

"Idiot! What have you done?" Regina shook Emma’s body and Henry and his companion came to join them cautiously.

"She's stubborn like my grandma," Henry shook his head and Regina was surprised to see him.

"Henry! I swear I didn't do this," she looked with horror into his eyes but he returned a warm smile.

"I know, mom. But now would be a good time to kiss her," Henry told her with flushed cheeks.

"How much did you hear?" Regina asked with shock.

"A little bit?" He smiled awkwardly. "Mom, you can do it," he encouraged her, and Regina was the one to blush lightly now.

"This is silly, Henry, you will do it," Regina moved to a side to allow him some space.

"No. It's you who has to do it, mom. That's what she wanted, and we need to know," Henry put a hand on Regina's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

Regina was surprised by his answer and gathered the courage to find the truth about what was really between her and Emma. "Fine, but don't look." She ordered and he chuckled.

"Okay. We will turn around," He answered and did as promised.

Regina brushed a blonde curl away from Emma's face and then looked at her serene semblance with nervousness.  _Okay, it’s not like I haven’t kissed a girl before_ , she told herself, and looked again at thin lips she could remember kissing in the past; the image just as vivid as if it had happened the day before despite several years of the occurrence (for her). Emma’s lips were shaped almost the same as when she was Harry.

She leaned down slowly and when crimson lips touched rosy, a wave of light traveled through the chambers and all over Storybrooke, surprising people at the party, and everyone asked each other what the heck was happening.

"You did it!" Henry exclaimed as he turned around, and one of his eyebrows went up when he saw Emma pull Regina even closer and prevented her from parting from their kiss.

"Wait," Regina tried to pull away but couldn't. "Emma there's so-" the brunette tried to tell her they weren't alone but Emma wouldn't allow the Mayor to escape _true love's grip_.

"No," Emma kissed Regina's lips with _need,_ but had to stop after a minute when Henry finally made his presence known to her.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat and Emma was startled.

"Oh my God, Henry! What are you doing in here?" She blushed brightly, and slowly got up together with Regina.

"I followed after you. Duh," he told her and rolled his eyes.  _As if she didn't know him by now._ He was her kid.

"And who did you just kidnap?" Emma asked curiously after noticing the little girl hidden behind his leg; the same child she’d seen sat with Robin and Roland at the booth before all hell broke loose.

"That would be my daughter," Regina narrowed her gaze on Emma.

"WHAT?" The blonde asked abruptly. _What else did I change?_

"Whom you seem not to remember," the brunette was slightly confused, but then understood Emma had different sets of memories in her head. 

_Of course she wouldn’t remember her._

"Emma… There's someone I'd like you to meet," Regina looked at her nervously, and it was now her hands the ones sweating.

"Uh, sure," Emma walked toward Henry and the fair skinned child.  _Could she be Robin and Regina's love child? What the fuck. Please no._

"Hi," Emma smiled at the infant.

The little girl stared with curiosity, though shyly. "Hi," the kid replied nervously because she wasn't used to being so close to Emma. She had been too small when the insufferable blonde came to town and Regina had never allowed them any contact. She had no choice but to share Henry with Emma then, but no obligation to share her little princess as well.

"How old is she?" Emma demanded from Regina, and suddenly remembered Neal asking her the very same question when he saw Henry for the first time. But here, with how young the girl was, she very well could be Robin’s and Emma hated herself because—apparently—she had made this happen. Somehow the repercussions of her trip pushed Regina into Robin’s arms earlier and now they had a child together. This was one big mess she hated and she was the only one to blame.

Emma didn’t know anything about the story of the man with the lion tattoo and she had been so focused on solving the mystery of the wicked witch so she could go back to New York as soon as she could, she hadn’t noticed the moment Regina got together with the thief. This sucked, and she was in such a pessimistic mood that not even having shared True Love’s kiss just now with Regina, did anything to help make her feel better.

“Two and a half,” Regina responded dryly, almost accusingly.

“Mommy?” The little girl pouted her lips and ran from Henry’s side to Regina's arms. “Three birfday soon.”

"That's right, honey. You will soon turn three," her mother kissed her pink cheek, and softened her expression.

Emma looked at the child carefully and her gaze got lost in big hazel-green eyes, at the same time new memories began flooding her mind. She kept looking at the child, at Regina, and at Henry, whose eyes were somewhat resembled to the child's color, but slightly closer to brown than the baby girl's. She wanted to believe, _but didn’t Robin Hood have light eyes, too? What even was his eye-color?_ She had never paid attention—not that she had any reason to. The man was an unpleasant sight to behold. What even did Regina see in him, it was beyond her.

 _Ugh. I fucking hate his guts,_ Emma's mind was trailing.

"I could never understand where she got her golden locks from… that was until now," Regina interrupted Emma's thoughts, as if reading her mind. "She's the reason why I ultimately cast the curse. I wanted her to live in a world where her mother wasn't…" Regina stopped before finishing.

"I see," Emma said after her.

She moved closer to touch her newfound daughter, feeling just as baffled—if not more—as the night Henry showed up in Boston at her door.

"You’re beautiful, Helena," Emma gently caressed short golden curls after recalling the name from recent memories, and felt her heart swell for the innocent child she had grown specially fond of, ever since the first time she saw her in Regina's arms during the event where Mary Margaret helped Grumpy sell candles.

It was a mystery who had fathered that child and people preferred avoiding the subject, and even more so after the curse had broken. It was much wiser not to poke at the past, or the _unknown_ for that matter. Specially if it was about the Evil Queen; their Mayor.

New images continued coming to Emma's mind about her life in Storybrooke and she remembered Henry’s _ridiculous_ story about the baby that had been stuck at four months old during the twenty-eight years of the curse, and how much it had cost Emma not to laugh in his face when he told her about his never aging  _older_ sister. She would later ask Regina why she’d adopted Henry, as this was a new mystery for her. 

“May I have a hug, Princess?” Emma asked her child, suppressing tears that wanted to fall. "I've missed you so very much," Emma felt the absence of the one year without seeing her family (her parents, Regina, and Helena included) after having had to leave Storybrooke to escape Pan's curse. It hit her all at once, but she held back her tears for another time; she didn't want to scare her daughter this moment.

"Mama?" Helena turned to look at her brunette mother for permission.

“It’s okay, my love, if you want to go with Emma,” Regina smiled warmly.

The baby girl nodded and extended her chubby, little arms for the blonde woman and Emma held her in a gentle embrace, feeling so many mixed emotions about this unexpected reunion. She was a mother again _. Or more like a father?_ Who would've imagined.

 

They went back to Granny's diner and everyone noticed the hands that found each other after Regina opened the door for her family. Henry had made his way through the crowd to find a place where to sit down, as Emma came in carrying a smaller version of herself in her right hip, and her left hand was caught by Regina’s as they walked to where Henry had found a table for their new Swan-Mills family unit.

"So…" David wasn't sure where to start or what to ask. 

He hadn’t even noticed Henry had stolen his truck, and the sneaky teenager carefully slipped the keys back inside his jacket hanging on a chair, unattended. They'd all thought Emma, Regina, and the kids, had left together to talk about Emma's resolve to go back to New York. She had been pondering about leaving Storybrooke earlier, to which Regina hadn't reacted in the most supportive of ways, and with good reason. They thought they'd taken this pause to discuss the terms over Henry's custody, but now, with the big smiles on their faces, it could only mean Emma had decided to stay. Hopefully.

"Let me present to you my True Love and our daughter," Emma said proudly to them.

 Everyone stared in disbelief. _Okay, that WASN'T what they expected at all._

"Are you kidding us, sister?" Grumpy blurted, earning him Regina's glare.

"Mommy gave Emma magic kiss!" Little Helena exclaimed, and several eyebrows went up.

"Yep. Their kiss broke a curse and now we can finally live our happy ending," Henry told them like it was nothing and now their mouths went agape.

"About time," David mumbled and went back to drinking from his beer.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked him in bewilderment but he avoided replying.

"Nothing."

"You both were kind of obvious here, and I also got a vibe from _Prince Harry_ in the Enchanted Forest," Mary Margaret answered and it was Emma who questioned now.

"How come?" Her daughter felt somewhat bothered.

"At the fire pit. You kept claiming Regina was just _misunderstood_ when I called her a heartless, evil queen. And not even because she almost _killed_ me, did you stop seeing her as _Regina_ ," her mother emphasized and Regina smirked with satisfaction. "I even suspected you were one of her spies, to be honest," Snow confessed.

"Really?" Emma asked incredulously.

"And lady here," Hook pointed at Marian, "shared a story about a certain prisoner making the Evil Queen soften for a night," the pirate said loudly with anger as he now pointed with his hook to Regina and then at Emma. "That's bad form, Swan," his brow furrowed deeper, and he took another gulp from his canteen of rum.

"That was too much information," Mary Margaret muttered.

 _Who even invited him?_ Regina wanted to question, but clenched her teeth and decided not to start an argument with the loathsome pirate, who seemed quite drunk already with his friend, Smee, at the bar.

“Wait the fuck up! _”_ Smee exclaimed.

“Ye went back’n’time," he pointed at Hook, "ya wench turned a lad," he pointed at Emma, who was offended by the chosen title, "knocked up the Evil Queen- can't say I wouldn't hit that too," the chubby man winked at Regina, who rolled her eyes, "n ya got _noth’n,_ my Cap’n?” He asked Captain Hook with disbelief and hiccuped.

Everyone was torn between laughing and keeping their mouths shut because he had just made fun of the Captain at the expense of the Evil Queen, the Savior, and neither woman looked like they were finding his remarks humorous. _Better remain quiet._

“Aye. It’s all the _Crocodile’s_ fault, mate,” Hook shot him a death glare.

Rumple smirked at that as he and Belle were sat in one of the small tables for two. Yes, this had been something he'd _nudged_ in the right direction, but only because Emma Swan had tampered with the past and his vision had shown him the repercussions would have Regina derailed from her path toward casting the Dark Curse if the woman savior gave her one of her hope speeches. He'd seen something then, something he knew would play a part in breaking a curse in the future: their True Love. It was better not to risk them sharing it so soon. It was better to mess things up more between them so Regina would cast the curse.

“Shiver my timbers, ye seem dumber than meself!” Smee was cackling. “Blondie looked like she wanted to _bone_ the Queen since before landing from Neverland,” he was almost crying from the laughter at Hook's blindness. Even he had noticed the way Emma looked at Regina when the brunette wasn't looking.

“Watch your bloody tongue before I cut it off!” The pirate spat, grabbed him by the collar of his sweater and threatened him with his hook.

“Enough of both of you,” David appeared behind Hook, grabbed him by the coat, and Philip moved to pull back Smee. They separated them and threw them outside Granny’s.

They hadn’t invited them, but the restaurant was a public space and people could still come, even if there was a party going on. The pirates cussed as they were kicked out, but then continued their path to the Jolly Roger. They were already wasted and would most likely end up falling asleep somewhere down the street. 

"Now that that nuisance is solved, we can go back to celebrating our son's naming," David said as he came back inside.

"I'm afraid we will have to leave the party early, though…" Emma offered an apologetic smile to her parents.

"Why?" Her mother asked with concern.

"Our baby girl is getting sleepy," Emma responded as she held a dozzy girl in her arms.

"Can I stay?" Henry asked them as he went to sit down with David. “I could drive the bug back home… Or Mom’s car?” he tested the waters.

“NO,” both of his mothers responded.

“He can spend the night with us,” David said to them as he looked at his grandson.

“Oh, we wouldn’t want to impose. You already have your hands full with your newborn,” Regina told them.

“Nonsense. Henry’s not a baby; he won’t give us any extra work,” Mary Margaret responded warmly. “We would love to have him home.”

“Okay. It’s settled then,” Emma said this time and smiled at Regina and Henry. “Let’s just celebrate for a little while longer.”

"The royal family keeps on growing," David commented with amusement. "Here’s to the new additions!" He lifted up his beer while offering a smile to Philip and Aurora, who were expecting a little prince of their own, and had just turned back to human after the wicked witch was defeated. There were so many reasons to be happy for this day.

After the toast, everyone went back to minding their own business and Emma and Regina made it to the mansion together with little Helena asleep on the back of the Mercedes. They were in the one house on Mifflin Street Emma never imagined she would come to call her _home._


End file.
